Two teams seemingly destined for long and arduous relegation battles meet on Saturday afternoon when Southampton and Leicester City collide at St Mary’s.
Both sides were promoted from the Championship last season but have only one league win between them in 2024/25 so far ahead of this clash.
The Saints have been goal-shy upon their return to England’s top flight, scoring only four times while conceding 15. They are five points behind the Foxes, who picked up their sole victory last time out with a slender 1-0 win over Bournemouth.
With both clubs in dire need of points at the bottom of the table, here’s 90min’s preview of Saturday’s fixture on the south coast.
Southampton vs Leicester H2H Results (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Southampton |
Leicester |
|---|---|
|
Arsenal 3-1 Southampton – 05/10/24 |
Leicester 1-0 Bournemouth – 05/10/24 |
|
Bournemouth 3-1 Southampton – 30/09/24 |
Arsenal 4-2 Leicester – 28/09/24 |
|
Southampton 1-1 Ipswich – 21/09/24 |
Walsall 0-0 (0-3p) Leicester – 24/09/24 |
|
Everton 1-1 (5-6p) Southampton – 17/09/24 |
Leicester 1-1 Everton – 21/09/24 |
|
Southampton 0-3 Man Utd – 14/09/24 |
Crystal Palace 2-2 Everton – 14/09/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
N/A |
|
United States |
Peacock |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network 6 Canada |
Southampton boss Russell Martin has been boosted by the news of Kamaldeen Sulemana and Will Smallbone’s returns to fitness, though they come back into contention at the same time that Ross Stewart faces another short spell on the sidelines.
Defender Jack Stephens will complete his four-game ban, leaving Taylor Harwood-Bellis to partner Jan Bednarek at centre-back, while exciting youngster Tyler Dibling has shaken off a few knocks after withdrawing from the England Under-19s squad.
Southampton predicted lineup vs Leicester (4-3-3): Ramsdale; Sugawara, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Walker-Peters; Fernandes, Downes, Aribo; Dibling, Archer, Fraser.
Leicester manager Steve Cooper reported no fresh injury concerns in his pre-match press conference. Jannik Vestergaard returned to fitness by playing twice for Denmark during the international break and could be in line to face his former club.
Elsewhere, Hamza Choudhury, Jakub Stolarczyk and Patson Daka remain out of contention, though the latter is making good progress in his recovery and could be back in action soon.
Leicester predicted lineup vs Southampton (4-2-3-1): Hermansen; Justin, Faes, Okoli, Kristiansen; Skipp, Ndidi; Buonanotte, Ayew, Mavididi; Vardy.
Leicester earned a huge 5-0 victory over Southampton when these two sides most recently squared off in the Championship last season, but it’s unlikely to be such a one-sided affair at St Mary’s on Saturday.
The Saints are in dire need of points, with only Wolves below them in the Premier League table, but the performance at Arsenal before the international break showed Martin’s troops have plenty of resilience. That said, if they are to avoid the drop, these are the sort of games they simply have to win.
The Foxes have won in the league already this season, unlike their hosts, and they’ll expect to exploit some of Southampton’s defensive deficiencies on Saturday. However, it could end in an entertaining draw which ultimately suits neither side.
Prediction: Southampton 2-2 Leicester
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